Woman with a Cat

1878

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

96.5 × 74.9 cm

Status

In Museum Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-137003

In a quiet and contemplative moment, an elderly woman sits in a chair, holding a black cat. Against the light-filled and rather sparse setting, the bright stripes of her skirt and striking black of the cat’s fur draw our eyes to this focal point of the composition. The woman’s pose, with head bowed to the side and hands gently embracing the cat, seems to reflect an emotional bond between the two. Her body language recalls traditional European images of motherhood and even Christian depictions of Mary with her infant son Jesus. German artist Max Liebermann was indebted to the Realism movement, which emerged in the 1840s with French painters like [Gustave Courbet (1819–1877)](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/artists/365/gustave-courbet-french-1819-1877/) and [Jean-François Millet (1814–1875)](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/artists/581/jean-francois-millet-french-1814-1875/). Realism and Liebermann’s work challenged artistic tradition and conventional ideals of beauty by painting common people, rather than only the wealthy and nobility, and using a rougher painting style where brushstrokes are visible. Critics in his time called Liebermann an “apostle of ugliness” and “pai…